Facebook campaign gets Irish film to South X Southwest Film Festival

Writer/director Terry McMahon has achieved the unbelievable - his film Charlie Casanova, shot last year, has been selected for the upcoming South X Southwest Festival, despite being made almost without a budget.

McMahon, who studied screenwriting at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, set up a Facebook page last year pitching the film, and asking for help:

"Intend shooting no budget, 'Charlie Casanova' a provocatively dark satire in the first couple of weeks of January. Need cast, equipment, locations, and a lot of balls. Any takers? Script at [link]www.terrymcmahon.org[/link]. This is sincere so bullshitters f**k off in advance. Thank you."

Following this post, McMahon was inundated with offers from actors and crew, who offered their services for free. Set in Dublin city and starring actors Emmet Scanlan and Liegh Arnoldand, Charlie Casanova was filmed over twelve days in January last year. And if that wasn't enough to melt the most cynical of hearts, the film has since made its way to the prestigious SXSW Film Festival in Texas!

McMahon says of making Charlie Casanova:

"What I do know is this jaded tattooed hack-whore took that cobwebbed script out of a drawer and is now somehow editing a movie. The only gig in town, Fair City, is no more, and the bank manager wants to know how in hell I’m going to honor my debts and I want to know how in hell I’m going to feed my kids, but I don’t despair. From equipment to locations, everything was donated; everybody worked for nothing; and the ensemble cast, led by Emmett Scanlan and Leigh Arnold, were courageous beyond measure. The crew were mostly in their early twenties; diligent, passionate, fearless, and an honour to work with, if these kids are Ireland’s future, then, despite the incompetence and corruption, our future is bright."

Read more on this fascinating story on Terry's website.

Charlie Casanova will be screened at the South by Southwest Festival, which takes place in Austin, Texas between March 10 and 19.